As is commonly known, a heat exchanger is employed to transfer heat between a fluid flowing through the heat exchanger and air. The heat exchanger typically contains a heat exchange core having a plurality of tubes or plates interposed with a plurality of fins. A pair of tanks is typically disposed on opposing ends of the core, and the tanks are in fluid communication with each other through the tubes or plates of the core.
The cores and tanks of a conventional heat exchanger are typically produced from materials having high heat transfer coefficients such as aluminum, brass, and copper. Particularly, the heat exchanger formed entirely of aluminum has become increasingly popular because of minimized weight and maximized performance compared to the heat exchanger formed from brass and copper. An aluminum heat exchanger is produced by welding or brazing aluminum tanks onto opposing ends of an aluminum core.
Although aluminum offers superior heat transfer performance, it does not come without drawbacks. A geometry of aluminum tanks is relatively limited by manufacturing processes. Tanks and other components of the aluminum heat exchanger are often formed by extrusion and stamping processes, and complex geometries cannot be feasibly incorporated. Additionally, aluminum is relatively rigid, and lacks flexibility when formed of thicknesses sufficient for desired strength.
In a modern vehicle, it is common to combine multiple heat exchangers in a cooling module. Due to the aforementioned limitations, assembly of the aluminum heat exchanger may present challenges. For example manufacturing inconsistencies may cause misalignment of mounting components of the heat exchanger with respective mounting points in the vehicle. Misalignment issues are compounded when multiple aluminum heat exchangers are combined. Misalignments are commonly accommodated by using conventional mounting hardware such as bolts and fasteners, to couple the heat exchangers to each other. However, due to the rigid nature of the aluminum heat exchanger, use of conventional mounting hardware may be difficult and timely. Additionally, the use of conventional fasteners increases manufacturing costs, as additional parts must be maintained in the supply chain and assembled with the vehicle.
It would be desirable to provide a means for assembling multiple aluminium heat exchangers in a cooling module without the use of conventional mounting hardware.